Emerging role of corporate treasury management in cyber space

The original publication is available at http://www.sajim.co.za/The Internet has brought about many new implications for the way we do business and is becoming a feature of normal business (Forster 2000). The most important implication is the way in which the Internet links many different entities in a vast network, creating a pool of information that is accessible from any location in the world. The computer screen is a small window into this pool of information, allowing us to interact with other participants in cyberspace. The most important aspect of the Internet from the point of view of this research is that it allows or facilitates the flow of business information, called e-business, between businesses and consumers, allowing business-to-business and business-to-consumer interaction. One of the possibilities brought about by the Internet is that of trading on-line, also called ecommerce. This opens up a new world that allows trade with global markets from any location. The ease with which we change things (information) in this environment may cause us to be indifferent to the parties with which we do business – as long as we are able to verify their secure identities. The modern treasury environment in a corporate treasury will be affected materially by the Internet. How treasury departments are being affected and will be affected in the future is important for South Africa. As a developing country, South Africa needs to take note of important changes in the global environment. If the country does not keep up with developments, the cost of catching up, which may be substantial, will place further unnecessary strain on the SA economy. E-business is seen as one of the most important enablers of business and it seems as if SA companies are already about 18 months to two years behind their counterparts in the USA (Gordon 2000:10). Generally, South African companies have not yet fully exploited the business advantages of new technologies (Duffield 2001:18). South African corporate treasuries realize the benefits of the e-business environment but need to take note of the changes and requirements necessary to fully exploit these benefits and to enable them to better manage the overall treasury function and the increased exposure to financial risk which may come about owing to mismanagement, fraud, inefficient systems or the use of modern financial instruments. Devastating losses may come about owing to the incorrect use of, for instance, derivative financial instruments. These instruments may leverage a dramatic loss (Holton 1998) and may threaten the future existence of a company. It is today also much easier to place most or all of the capital of a company at risk with one phone call. This just underlines how important it is to employ technology to improve the flow of business information for transactional, timely and accurate information for management purposes. The management of risk from the enterprise perspective therefore becomes vital.Publishers' Versio

Die Iliosakrale Gewrig: Die rol vervul in die vroulike bekken

No Abstrac

DOES RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PAY - THE CASE FOR PROTEACEAE

This paper reports on the socio-economic impact of the Proteaceae technology development and transfer programme. Farm level data were collected from the major role players in the industry, including cultivators, harvesters, agents and nurseries. The five major production regions were the Western Cape, South Western Cape, Southern Cape, Cape Peninsula and Eastern Cape, but other small regions in the Republic of South Africa (RSA) were also included in the study. Standard pretested mail questionnaires, supplemented with personal interviews, were used. This paper reports the socio-economic impacts over the period 1974- 2005. Results show that the rate of return for the financial and economic analyses ranged between seven and twelve percent, showing that the research programme is a profitable investment to society. The Proteaceae programme contributed to the conservation of biodiversity, had institutional impact in terms of training and technology transfer, while the social impact was indicated by employment generation through R&D activities.Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Characterization of LWRS Hybrid SiC-CMC-Zircaloy-4 Fuel Cladding after Gamma Irradiation

The purpose of the gamma irradiation tests conducted at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) was to obtain a better understanding of chemical interactions and potential changes in microstructural properties of a mock-up hybrid nuclear fuel cladding rodlet design (unfueled) in a simulated PWR water environment under irradiation conditions. The hybrid fuel rodlet design is being investigated under the Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) program for further development and testing of one of the possible advanced LWR nuclear fuel cladding designs. The gamma irradiation tests were performed in preparation for neutron irradiation tests planned for a silicon carbide (SiC) ceramic matrix composite (CMC) zircaloy-4 (Zr-4) hybrid fuel rodlet that may be tested in the INL Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) if the design is selected for further development and testin

Characterization of LWRS Hybrid SiC-CMC-Zircaloy-4 Fuel Cladding after Gamma Irradiation

The purpose of the gamma irradiation tests conducted at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) was to obtain a better understanding of chemical interactions and potential changes in microstructural properties of a mock-up hybrid nuclear fuel cladding rodlet design (unfueled) in a simulated PWR water environment under irradiation conditions. The hybrid fuel rodlet design is being investigated under the Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) program for further development and testing of one of the possible advanced LWR nuclear fuel cladding designs. The gamma irradiation tests were performed in preparation for neutron irradiation tests planned for a silicon carbide (SiC) ceramic matrix composite (CMC) zircaloy-4 (Zr-4) hybrid fuel rodlet that may be tested in the INL Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) if the design is selected for further development and testin

Pre-irradiation testing and analysis to support the LWRS Hybrid SiC-CMC-Zircaloy-04 unfueled rodlet irradiation

Nuclear fuel performance is a significant driver of nuclear power plant operational performance, safety, economics and waste disposal requirements. The Advanced Light Water Reactor (LWR) Nuclear Fuel Development Pathway focuses on improving the scientific knowledge basis to enable the development of high-performance, high burn-up fuels with improved safety and cladding integrity and improved nuclear fuel cycle economics. To achieve significant improvements, fundamental changes are required in the areas of nuclear fuel composition, cladding integrity, and fuel/cladding interaction

Identification of Silver and Palladium in Irradiated TRISO Coated Particles of the AGR-1 Experiment

Evidence of the release of certain metallic fission products through intact tristructural isotropic (TRISO) particles has been seen for decades around the world, as well as in the recent AGR-1 experiment at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). However, understanding the basic mechanism of transport is still lacking. This understanding is important because the TRISO coating is part of the high temperature gas-cooled reactor functional containment and critical for the safety strategy for licensing purposes. Our approach to identify fission products in irradiated AGR-1 TRISO fuel using scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), Electron Energy-Loss Spectroscopy (EELS) and Energy Filtered TEM (EFTEM), has led to first-of-a-kind data at the nano-scale indicating the presence of silver at triple-points and grain boundaries of the SiC layer in the TRISO particle. Cadmium was also found in the triple junctions. In this initial study, the silver was only identified in SiC grain boundaries and triple points on the edge of the SiC-IPyC interface up to a depth of approximately 0.5 μm. Palladium was identified as the main constituent of micron-sized precipitates present at the SiC grain boundaries. Additionally spherical nano-sized palladium rich precipitates were found inside the SiC grains. No silver was found in the center of the micron-sized fission product precipitates using these techniques, although silver was found on the outer edge of one of the Pd-U-Si containing precipitates which was facing the IPyC layer. Only Pd-U containing precipitates were identified in the IPyC layer and no silver was identified in the IPyC layer. The identification of silver alongside the SiC grain boundaries and the findings of Pd inside the SiC grains and alongside SiC grain boundaries provide important information needed to understand silver and palladium transport in TRISO fuel, which has been the topic of international research for the past forty years. The findings reported in this paper may support the postulations of recent research that Ag transport may be driven by grain boundary diffusion. However, more work is needed to fully understand the transport mechanisms. Additionally, the usefulness of the advanced electron microscopic techniques for TRISO coated particle research is demonstrated in this paper

Differentiation between Wines Originating from Different Red Wine Cultivars and Wine Regions by the Application of Stepwise Discriminant Analysis to Gas Chromatographic Data

Stepwise discriminant analysis (SDA) was applied to gas chromatographic data of some volatile compounds extracted with freon from red wines. By means of this statistical method, Pinotage and Cabernet Sauvignon wines (1978 vintage) could be classified into separate groups, the most effective variables being hexanol and i-amyl acetate. Pinotage wines from three, and Cabernet Sauvignon wines from two localities (1979 vintage) were subjected to classification according to origin. Successful classifications were obtained using the variables ethyl acetate, ethyl caprate, i-amyl acetate as well as a compound tentatively identified as i-valeric acid

Objective quality rating of Pinotage wine

Relationships between wine composition and three quality parameters were investigated employing a linear multiple regression statistical model. For this purpose a least squares curve fitting computer programme was applied to analyses of 17 Pinotage wines for 6 fatty add esters. Overall quality, taste and aroma ratings were determined by a taste panel and utilized as dependent variables. lt was found that 2 esters viz. n-hexylacetate and ethyl-n-octanoate allowed excellent prediction equations to be set up for the quality ratings when incorporated into multiple regression equations.Objektive Beurteilung der Weinqualität bei der Sorte PinotageDie Beziehungen zwischen der Weinzusammensetzung und drei Parametern der Weinqualität wurden untersucht, wobei das statistische Modell einer mehrfachen linearen Regression verwendet wurde. Zu diesem Zweck wurden die bei 17 Weinen der Sorte Pinotage gewonnenen Analysenergebnisse über 6 Fettsäureester in ein Computerprogramm zur optimalen Kurvenanpassung eingegeben. Durch ein Gutachtergremium wurden die Gesamt-Weinqualität, der Geschmack und der Geruch bewertet; die Daten dieser Qualitätsbeurteilung wurden als abhängige Veränderliche benützt. Es wurde festgestellt, daß 2 Ester, nämlich n-Hexylacetat und Äthyl-n-octanoat eine ausgezeichnete Vorhersage der Weinqualität ermöglichten, wenn ihre Werte in Mehrfachregressions-Gleichungen eingesetzt wurden